"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki has gone berserk?!"
Chiba heard the news. His face drained of color. Now he understood why that ANBU ninja had looked so panicked.
Watching the anime in his previous life, the world-ending threats never felt real. On a screen, it was just images.
But in Sunagakure, Chiba had witnessed a Tailed Beast's power firsthand. A casual flip could shake the earth, a force utterly beyond human strength.
And now they were facing the Nine-Tails—a terror far beyond Shukaku. Chiba's first instinct was to turn and run.
"Someone has already gone to inform the Hokage," the ANBU said with a grimace. "But it would be best if we could handle this before he arrives. This… this is a failure of our ANBU duty."
He looked at Chiba. "I thought, given your team's special function, you, as captain, might have an idea."
What the hell can I do? Damn it, should've postponed joining by a day! Chiba raged internally.
"Huh? Wait…"
A strange expression flickered across Chiba's face. A thought clicked. He muttered, low and weirdly amused, "Actually… I think I do have an idea."
Not long before, outside Konoha.
Think on it! Your Uzumaki clan was destroyed. The orphans became mere tools for sealing. Our fates are the same! Hate! Rage!
Inside the mindscape of Konoha's current Jinchuriki, Kushina Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails' voice rumbled like thunder, constantly battering the seal, trying to shatter her will.
I am the only one who can free you from this miserable fate! Undo the seal! Free us both!
"Stop it, Nine-Tails! Shut up!"
The deep, grating growl felt like nails in her skull. Kushina clutched her head, doubling over with a pained cry.
"Kushina, are you okay?" Minato moved closer, his voice tight with worry.
Kushina's head snapped up.
Minato's heart lurched. Her eyes were pure, feral malice.
Trust no one! He is using you! Kill him! KILL HIM NOW!
Minato stared, stunned. Kushina's hand had transformed into a crimson claw. It punched straight through his chest.
"Aaaaarrrgh!"
Nine-Tails' chakra bled from her pores.
Kushina's form dissolved, replaced by a writhing mass of red and black tendrils. A single, lashing crimson tail whipped through the air behind her.
He matters to you, doesn't he? Undo the seal completely, or I'll kill him right now!
"Kushina, hold on! Don't let it in! You're stronger than I am!"
The Nine-Tails' taunts and Minato's pleas warred in her ears. A sliver of clarity returned to Kushina's gaze.
"Grandmother Mito said… love is the anchor that lifts us from the vortex. Nine-Tails! I won't let you hurt Minato!"
"Sealing Art: Adamantine Sealing Chains!"
In the mindscape, chains erupted from within Kushina, wrapping around the massive fox, pulling tight.
The Nine-Tails laughed. A booming, mocking sound that shook the entire mental world.
"Pathetic. Mito Uzumaki sealed me because she was stronger. Love had nothing to do with it, you naive brat!"
Yank!
The fox grabbed a chain and pulled. Kushina was flung into the air and slammed into the ground.
In the real world, Kushina's Tailed Beast cloak deepened to a bloody crimson. A second tail formed. Then a third. A fourth. Up to seven. She teetered on the absolute edge of control.
BOOM!
A violent eruption of Tailed Beast energy blasted Minato off his feet. He tumbled roughly across the ground.
The moment he stopped, he forced himself up. Staggering, he moved toward the writhing form.
"Minato, stop! Get away! I can't… I can't hold it back!"
Kushina screamed, tears streaming down her face, evaporating into steam the moment they fell.
"No. I'm not leaving. Never. I'll protect you. No matter what. No matter where!"
A few steps away, Minato lunged, crashing into Kushina's form. One hand pressed against her abdomen, channeling chakra, desperately trying to reinforce the weakening seal.
This boy… not even an Uzumaki, yet he's using his will to strengthen the Four Symbols Seal?!
The Nine-Tails was shocked, then sneered.
Given time, this one might grow into a monster like Hashirama Senju.
But right now? He was nothing!
"If you two insist on dying together, then die!"
The Nine-Tails thrashed harder. It could feel it—the seal was weakening. A little more. Just a little more, and it would be free. Free to kill them. Free to burn the world.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Several ANBU figures materialized around the clearing.
Minato's exhausted face lit up with hope.
"Kushina! Hold on! We're saved! Konoha's reinforcements are here!"
Kushina had no breath to speak, but a flicker of hope reignited. She held on.
Time stretched. Every second felt like a year.
A full minute passed.
The ANBU ninja stood at the perimeter. Watching. Not one moved.
"What are you doing?! Get over here and help!" Minato twisted his head, snarling at them, his handsome face twisted with strain and fury.
Still, they didn't move. Silent. Observing.
Minato's hope plummeted, replaced by icy dread.
"HAHAHA! Foolish boy! Who else would throw their life away for nothing?!"
The Nine-Tails roared with laughter. The seal loosened with every chuckle. Almost there… almost…
"Are you all blind?! What the hell are you waiting for?!"
Just as the fox felt the final threads give way, an enraged shout cut through the night.
A blur shot past the motionless ANBU.
A hand clamped firmly over Minato's on Kushina's stomach.
"…Chiba?"
Minato's blurry vision cleared. His expression was a complex mess—shock, relief, gratitude, fear.
"Sorry I'm late, Minato-senpai."
Guilt pricked at Chiba. If it weren't for him, this little butterfly, Minato shouldn't have encountered this crisis before mastering the Rasengan.
Their chakra merged, flowing together in a steady stream into Kushina.
Damn it! Where did THIS brat come from?!
Minato's chakra reserves and control had already shocked the fox once.
But this new kid… his chakra was not only comparable to Minato's… it felt… sharper. More.
"RRRAAAGH!"
The Nine-Tails howled in fury. The seal, which had been on the verge of breaking, grew solid again under the flood of Chiba's power.
Swish! Swish!
With the massive chakra infusion, both Minato and Chiba appeared within Kushina's mindscape, facing the colossal beast.
"You! Why do you all keep coming here to die?! FINE! DIE TOGETHER!"
Tailed Beast Ball!
The Nine-Tails roared, its maw opening wide. A dark, violet sphere of terrifying, condensed energy rapidly coalesced between its jaws.
The sheer power radiating from it made all three of them pale.
"Minato-senpai, do you know the Rasengan? Let's hit him with it!" Chiba asked quickly.
"Rasengan? What's that?" Minato frowned, eyes locked on the swelling sphere of annihilation.
"Ah… seriously?"
Chiba's face fell. So he really didn't know it yet.
Well. Damn. Looked like he couldn't pass off this chance to show off.
It was up to him now. Uzumaki Chiba. Time to turn the tide.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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